Mar lost even in town named after grandpa

Mar Roxas III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY—Even in an upland town named after his grandfather, the late President Manuel Roxas, in North Cotabato province, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas lost by an overwhelming margin in Monday’s elections.

President Roxas, a first-class farming municipality with a voting population of 26,771, went for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the presidential contest, who got 17,548 votes. Roxas had only 1,462.

The town is mainly populated by people from Negros Occidental and other provinces in the Visayas and Luzon. Before the settlers arrived after World War II and occupied a large portion of the Arakan plains, it was a Manobo community known as Barrio Kabacan, according to the provincial government.

In 1957, the Negrense migrants formed the La Castellana Home Seekers Association and engaged in farming. As roads were built and forests were cleared, the barrio became a bustling logging area and eventually became a municipality a decade later.

While Roxas lost in the town, his party mate, Jaime Mahimpit, won in the mayoral contest with 10,155 votes.